Cape High Christmas: A Side Story (Cape High Series)

by R. J. Ross

  "I'll sign it for you!" I declare, grabbing the pen from Doris and the folder from Ariel.

  "Don't worry about that, Ariel. You can just make an X," Century says. "We can set you up with a tutor for reading and writing, if you want."

  "Don't look down on me!" Ariel says. The sky starts to get cloudy and I get excited.

  "YAY! RAIN!" I say. "Wait, wait, I need to do my traditional rain dance!" I start waving my arms in the air, dancing crazily, the pen and folder still in my hands.

  "Is she Native American?" Doris asks Century.

  "Not a bit, that I know of," he says. "But give her enough time and I'm sure she'll adopt herself into a tribe."

  "Native Americans ARE AWESOME!" I declare, throwing my arms toward the sky and looking up expectantly. "Their rain dances probably work, for one," I add. In fact the clouds are gone, now. I look at Ariel, who's giggling for some reason.

  "She just--" Ariel says, pointing at me. "I was the one making it rain, Skye," she tells me.

  "At least you didn't indulge her," Doris says dryly. "Come here, I'll show you how to make an X," she adds, taking the folder from me and heading to Ariel.

  "Did you do a rain dance, too?" I ask Ariel.

  "I don't HAVE to do a rain dance!"

  "That doesn't mean you CAN'T!" I protest. "If you can throw in a dance, you absolutely should!"

  "Okay, okay, I'll throw in a dance," Ariel says as Doris shows her how to sign her papers.

  "Now you're indulging her," Doris scolds her. "She might officially be our leader but we don't have to do everything she says."

  "I'm--" I say, my eyes widening as shock hits me. "I'M the leader?" I ask, giddily.

  They just look at me before looking at each other. "I nominate myself," Doris says.

  "TOO LATE!" I yell. "I'm the leader! I'm the leader! We need to pick our colors! I call red! Red is always the leader! Or should it be pink, because we're girls?" I ask, frowning as I run into the BIGGEST decision in my LIFE! "We can totally be like the Powerpuff Girls!"

  "You've already got a costume," Century says, taking the folders as they're handed over. "And the red thing only works for heroes, Sugar. You're a villain, remember? The two of you should stop by the branch to be fitted for proper uniforms. Come in the back way. Now, who's hungry?" he asks, unpacking the picnic basket. "I brought subs!"

  Ariel and Doris grab the sandwiches even as I start to protest. I glare at Century, walking over to poke him in the chest when that doesn't seem to faze him. "MY group of villainous ladies, go get your own," I say, putting my hands on my hips.

  "Of course they are," he agrees, pulling out another sandwich and offering it to me. "I'm just giving a little helping hand."

  I give him my best stink eye before snatching the sandwich out of his hand and dropping down on the picnic blanket. "We're not working until this weekend," I tell him as I eat. "We're going to make ourselves at home, got it? And we're going to--"

  "Go out and meet boys," Ariel says. There's a tiny twitch beneath Century's eye when she says that, I notice.

  "And rob them," Doris finishes.

  "I see," he says, starting to smile as he takes a drink of coffee. "So you want to feel your oats, is that it?"

  "Skye's declared this spring break," Ariel says.

  "Well, I have a suggestion for one place you could go to let your hair down," he says. "Rochester's back to playing his gig over in New Orleans."

  "Rochester?" I say, getting excited. "I want to go!"

  "Isn't he a hero?" Doris asks, looking at me.

  "He's a teacher! Or he's going to be!" I say. "That means he works for my brother! Besides, I like him. He has cool powers and can play a guitar! Guitarists are sexy," I add with a happy little sigh.

  "She's got us, there," Doris says to Ariel.

  "Guitarists are sexy," Ariel repeats, frowning as she thinks about it. She nods after a long moment.

  "You just took that as a fact, didn't you?" Doris asks her.

  "Are they not?" she asks.

  "Well... yeah, sortta? I don't know, I guess it depends on the guitarist," Doris decides.

  "WAIT!" I say abruptly. "This is some devious trap!" I declare, pointing at Century. "He's luring us into thinking we're playing but then some random wanna-be-super hero will show up and challenge us to a fight!"

  "Now, Sugar, Rochester's my only psychic type. I wouldn't do a thing like that to him--especially when he has a standing invitation to Central," he says, looking innocent. That's a DEFINITE sign he's lying. "I'm just offering up a nice little place for a ladies night out."

  "In other words, he'd do it to US," Doris points out, "but Rochester is one of his favorites."

  "Of course you're my favorites, too," Century says. "Three beautiful villainesses? What other Hall can claim that? But you're tougher than he is, you can take anything I throw at you, I'm sure."

  "We shouldn't be your favorites," Ariel says, frowning. "We're super villains and you're a super hero, that makes us enemies, right?"

  "It DOES!" I say. "He's breaking the rules!"

  "Especially with that kiss a while back, right, Skye?" Doris says evilly. My best friend! She's gone evil! I would be so proud, you know, if she wasn't being evil to ME. I stick my tongue out at her, and when she only laughs, I tackle her to the ground.

  "Ladies, ladies! If you're going to in-fight at least make sure there's a camera around! The norms eat up that sort of drama."

  "What kiss?" Ariel asks.

  "Century--" Doris begins. I cover her mouth with a hand.

  "That is not something we discuss!" I say loudly.

  "Kissed Skye!" Doris says, pulling my hand away from her mouth.

  I glare at her, and when that doesn't do anything but make her laugh, I whack Century's leg--hard. "Hey, now, I didn't do anything this time--she was the one that said it!" he says, obviously trying not to laugh. "On Skye's behalf, she hit me hard when I DID do something, too," he adds, rubbing his jaw at the memory.

  "Is there something wrong with kissing Skye?" Ariel asks.

  "Yes!" I say. "When you're not ASKED to, and you're a perverted old man with kissy-kissy issues!" I hop to my feet. "Enough talking! We're going to see Rochester!" I declare, and then give Century my most dangerous look. "YOU have to go do the hero-ing thing, now, so shoo!"

  I will NEVER admit that it had been my first kiss. That Jerky McJerkinson stole MY FIRST KISS! I will never forgive him!

  "Are we going, or what?" Doris asks, finishing off her sandwich and getting to her feet.

  "So is Rochester a sexy guitarist?" Ariel asks as we leave Century behind.

  "Remember the blonde guy with all the piercings and tattoos?" Doris asks her. "He came to the school and there was a party?"

  "I think so?" Ariel says. "I was too busy hating Superior and getting to know Malina."

  "Do you still hate Dad?" I ask.

  "Yes, but there're more important things to do," she says. "Right?"

  "Right!" I say, throwing an arm over her shoulders and then dragging Doris over for a group hug. "Let's go meet boys!"

  "And rob them!" the two agree.

  ***

  Century casually gets up, packing up the little picnic. "You can step out, now," he says. A form detaches from the shadows, heading for him. "Hello, Ruckus," he says to the uniformed woman. She's tall, taunt, and beautiful in a sharp, dangerous way. Her skin is the color of dark cocoa and her hair is cut short, accentuating her high cheekbones and glowing bronze eyes. "You've gotten your glimpse, so what do you think?"

  "They're strangely adorable, aren't they?" she asks, frowning slightly.

  "That's why I've called you," Century says. "My three deadly darlin's need some serious competition. The world is slowly starting to realize that girls can run the show. I want to take advantage of that. I have their contract. They're signed up for two gigs a month, minimum. I want you and Dollface to be the ones that face them for at least a third of those gigs."

  Ruckus hesitates.
"Can we take them?" she asks.

  "Power-wise?" Century asks. "The two of you would have trouble taking Skye on her own, much less all three of them. But Skye plays by the rules if she's kept happy. Right now she's the happiest I've ever seen her," he admits, looking in the direction the girls went. "The other two you have a decent chance against," he goes on. "You two are some of the most impressive capes I've seen outside of Central, and I am, frankly, proud to have you on our team."

  "Not as impressive as Skye, though," Ruckus says bluntly.

  "Skye is an S-class," Century says. "She's adopted into the Superior line--they didn't even blink at the idea of her carrying the name."

  "Then why do you let her act as a villain?" Ruckus asks. "She should be a hero, if heroes can't beat her."

  "Oh, she can be beaten," Century says, "just not by you two."

  "You can beat her, then?"

  "Of course I can. But why would I want to? Skye is one of the most loved capes in the South Branch. I'm just betting on the fact that Ruckus and Dollface will be loved, as well," he says, looking at her pointedly.

  "How do you plan on that happening?" Ruckus asks. She looks as if she doubts it'll happen, herself.

  "By throwing you two at them," he says. "Don't hide who you are, sugar. Be bold and strong, because that's a big part of you, but don't be afraid to show the rest of you, as well. And remember that they have their problems, we all do, but they're just trying to make a place for themselves in this messed up, crazy world of ours." He looks at her, smiling slightly. "I'm going to make that place--for all of you."

  "So what do we do now?" she asks.

  "Go to the bar," he says. "And make sure that Rochester doesn't hit on my Skye. I like the boy. I wouldn't want her punching him. It could easily get him killed."

  "By her or by you?" she asks dryly. He gives her a little smile that's hard to read. "Do we go in uniform?" she asks.

  "Keep it under your civvies."

  "Understood," she says.

  "Unless you see a good chance to make a dramatic moment," he adds. "Try not to crash the bar, though. I've got an investment in it." He walks away, leaving her standing there with a strange look on her face.

  ***

  "Is it just me or are people staring at us?" Ariel asks as we walk down the streets of New Orleans' French Quarter. I can't help but stare at the beautiful old buildings and all the colorfully dressed people walking around us. Music fills the air thanks to the amazing street musicians. This place is SO COOL!

  "Well, if either of you would actually walk on the ground we might get less looks," Doris says dryly.

  "I am walking on the ground!" I declare, only to look down and discreetly drop down a few inches. "Well, NOW I am," I say.

  "I never really understood the point of walking," Ariel admits, still floating along beside us.

  "Me neither!" I say, grabbing her hand. "Great minds think alike!" I say happily. We'd flown (or in my case, ran on air) here, since it was fastest, but now it's still daylight. I don't know if Rochester will even be at his club--wait-- "Um, do either of you know where he works?" I ask them.

  "YOU were the one that was supposed to know that," Doris says after they both stare at me for a moment.

  "Yo, Skye!" I hear someone shout from behind us. I turn, seeing Rochester standing about a block away with his guitar slung over his shoulders. "You're goin' the wrong way. You came t'see me tonight, right?"

  "Rochester!" I say, running over to him happily, dragging Ariel behind me. "We've come to party! Doris graduated! And this is our official spring break!"

  "Spring break, huh?" he asks, not mentioning that it's just barely January. "Sounds like quite the party. Nice t'see ya again, Doris, um..." he looks at Ariel a bit vaguely, "water lady," he finishes.

  "Ariel," I provide. "Her name is Ariel, like the little mermaid!"

  "Ah, makes sense," he says. "Nice t'meetcha, Ariel," he says, holding out his hand with a tiny, wicked little smile.

  "Oh no you don't," Doris says, grabbing Ariel's hand before he can touch it. "Skye might like you, but we all know you're going to be one of the guys we go up against. No inside information for you."

  He gives her a shameless grin. "Can't blame a guy for tryin'," he says, only to drape an arm over my shoulders. "This way t'my work," he says, tugging me along. "The boss called me up on my way here an' said you'd be along. I think you'll really like it!" I blink as my feet touch the ground again. "But y'might want to keep closer to floor level."

  I blush, feeling a bit awkward, but forget about it quickly as he leads us into a bar. The place is ancient looking, but beautiful in its own way. Posters of bands and musicians hang in frames on the wall and the tables are made of heavy, ornately carved wood. The only people in the building other than us are a group of older men sitting on the stage with instruments, and another man behind the bar.

  "We been tellin' the boy to bring us a pretty lady, an' here he brings us three!" one of the men say, wiping away a fake tear. "I'm so proud, so very proud!"

  "These are jus' FRIENDS, Sam," Roch says dryly, leading us to the stage. "This here is Skye, Doris, an' Ariel," he introduces us. "Skye's big brother is the one teachin' my kid up north."

  "Hi!" I say, waving a hand furiously. "We've come to party!"

  "Any friend of Rochester's is a friend of ours," the bass player says, getting up and holding out a hand. I shake it, trying not to grip too tightly. I don't want to hurt his hand! "How would you ladies like to hear us warm up? Buford, make the ladies some drinks!" he calls to the man cleaning glasses. "What's your pleasure, pretty ladies?" he asks us.

  "Anything is fine," Doris says before I can. "In fact just a beer would be fine, right, Skye?" she asks me.

  "I dunno, I've never had alcohol before," I say innocently. The entire room other than Ariel turns and stares at me. "What's it taste like?"

  "How'd you find such an innocent one, Rochester?" Sam asks after a second of silence.

  Rochester hesitates, thinking long and hard. "I'm thinkin," he says after a long moment, "that there ain't no point in tryin' t'get her drunk, but you can if y'want," he says after a second.

  "Rochester, we're supposed to keep--" Doris says.

  "Ariel's floatin', Skye's feet ain't touchin' the ground, and I would trust these gents with my life," Rochester sums up with a little smile. "Gentlemen, these three are--"

  "We already know, son," the bass player says. "I am Clovis James, ma' petites, and we are the Sundown Blues Boys. That ornery coot on the drums is Sam, the pianist is Charlie, and our horn man goes by Beau. A pleasure to meet Rochester's fellow super heroes--"

  "Villains," Rochester corrects him.

  "Villains?" Clovis repeats, looking confused.

  "These three are the boss's 'Deadly Darlin's'," Rochester says.

  "We're the Femme Fatales!" I declare, giving him a sharp look. "NOT the Deadly Darlings!"

  "I don't know, Femme Fatale's pretty overdone," Doris says. "And all that new talk about feminism makes me think we'd irritate a lot of people by calling ourselves Deadly Darlin's." She doesn't sound as if she thinks that's a bad thing.

  "Deadly Darlin's and Femme Fatales mean roughly the same thing, right?" Rocco says.

  "Now, I've always seen a femme fatale as more..." Clovis starts out, only to get a sharp look from Rochester, "cold-blooded," he says, not missing a beat. "Personally, I think Deadly Darlin's would be an amazin' band name."

  "Why does the 'ing' sound keep changing?" Ariel asks.

  "Because they're southern," Doris says.

  "Aren't we southern, too? I made an X," Ariel says. "So we're the Deadly Darlin's."

  "I like the deadly part, but 'darlin's' is NOT powerful!" I declare. "I'm powerful! I'm the most powerful super villain in the WORLD!"

  "Of course you are," Rochester says.

  "She is?" Sam asks with a look of unbelief.

  "I am!" I say, giving him a dark look.

  "She is," Doris agrees in a dry tone.
"She's not the most evil, or bloodthirsty, or violent, or even ... well, villainous, but she's probably the most powerful."

  "Then it be an ironic name," Sam says, starting to grin. "Like us old folk calling ourselves boys."

  I blink. "I like ironic!" I decide.

  "Then we're the Deadly Darlin's," Doris says. "You're Skystep, I'm Jersey Devil, and Ariel is..." she looks at Ariel, blankly. "What do we call Ariel?"

  "Raindance!" I decide.

  "Okay, Raindance," Doris says when Ariel smiles and shrugs. "Now, are we taking a break or what? Someone mentioned drinks, right?" she asks, heading for the bar.

  "It fits them, doesn't it?" I hear Clovis whisper to Rochester.

  "Like a freakin' glove," Rochester whispers back. I give them a dirty look, but before I can say anything Doris shoves a bottle into my hand.

  "Your very first beer," she says, tapping her beer to mine and handing Ariel a third. "Also, you have free reign to yell at Century every time he leaves off the 'deadly' and calls one of us darlin'," she adds with a cheerfully evil grin.

  "But it's our name," Ariel says.

  "WE can call ourselves darlin', but him saying it is too sexist not to take advantage of it," Doris says.

  "So--so the NAME is a TRAP?" I ask, my eyes widening excitedly. "Best name ever!"

  "Only if he forgets the 'deadly' part, though," Doris admits, drinking her beer.

  ***

  "This is it?" Dollface asks as she and Ruckus approach the little bar. "Where Century's favorite plays? It's a bit... small." A strong wind blows and Dollface reaches up, patting her pinned up black hair to make sure it doesn't mess it up too much. "And I dressed up for this," she complains, motioning down to the retro red and white dress she's wearing. Her polka dot wedges are so high that she's almost as tall as Ruckus is.

  "You realize that we're likely to get into a brawl, don't you?" Ruckus asks, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with Voltdrain's symbol on the front. "We're not coming to meet boys." She still isn't sure why Century teamed her up with Dollface--they're almost exactly opposite. The only things they have in common are their skin color and the fact they have powers. But maybe when this goes wrong (like it's BOUND to) he'll just have to split them up and give them new partners! If she's REALLY lucky, she'll be able to talk him into letting her work with Voltdrain!